I've read where so many have suffered for months and even years after acdf surgery and it breaks my heart. I'm 14 weeks out and it's been a nightmare. I spent the first 8 weeks in tears from pain with little relief. Finally got on neurontin at 8 weeks and had some relief. I've increased the dose but it just doesn't work long enough. Still not showing any signs of fusion, started wearing the BGS yesterday. Can't sit for more than 2 hours due to pain in neck. Shoulder and left arm hurt like crazy. Dr says my test look god. He used the ROI-C which does not require screws. I'm so scared! He just keeps saying give it time. This is my second neck surgery and I had no problems last time. Has anyone had a rough recovery but ended up being ok? If so how long did it take? Trying hard to stay positive but I can't even fold a load of towels right now! Please please respond

I am sorry you are in such pain. If you cannot get some resolution, seek another opinion even if you are in recovery phase. I did read about the cage you have. My first surgery was fine, the second a nightmare in recovery time. I am now three years out, and a different person. In my case it took a very long time, over a year to really heal. It was only this last year, I was able to ditch the narcotics. I have faith that you will heal. Address your worries about the pain one way or the other. If you are suffering it does make healing take longer, and it causes alot of depression and anxiety. Those impede a good recovery. My doctor did address the pain, when I didn't think I was doing very well. Hopefully he will listen to you, and do more to help during this time. Sometimes you can get muscle spasms, which hurt like the devil. Soma is a good med. to add, to remove this problem. Call your doc. it can't hurt. I so hope that this turns out as good as what I did. ginnie

So there is hope! Thank you for replying. I had an episode earlier that had me screaming in pain. I was lying down and tried to pick up my heat pad. I couldn't get it with my right arm, my good one, so I reached my left arm over my chest and tried to pick it up. It felt like the muscles, ligaments, nerves, ??, were all being pulled out of my left arm. Once I got to an upright position and could get my arm in a different position, it stopped. I had woke up in the middle of the night in the same pain from moving my arm wrong. I've had a MRI on my shoulder which my fr just said shows bursitis but this is actually below the shoulder. Any ideas? Will this heal on its own?

Bursitis is an animal of a different kind. Surgery pain on top of that can't feel good. Has your doctor DX'd the bursitis? Sometimes, not all the time, an injection can calm things down. It is an inflamation of the joint as you know. I do think it can resolve on its own with some TLC. However if it is getting to the point you scream in pain, you need to let your doctor know. You don't need anything stopping you from having a good recovery from the surgery. I hope he or she listens to you, and treats you accordingly with some help. Google up Bursitis, see if the symptoms you have pretty well match, and then give the doc a call. I really hope you get well soon, and that the pain you have goes away. Take care and let me know how you do. ginnie

I am convinced it is not from bursitis. My dr said I had bursitis in my shoulder based on my MRI, but this pain is in the bicep area. It felt like something was about to snap into. Based on my nerve conductor test, I have damaged nerves since surgery so I'm wondering if that's where the pain is coming from. It doesn't sound like bursitis at all. He did say I could try injections for the bursitis since I can't take any anti inflammatory meds. I'm not saying bursitis isn't bad, but it seems like the least of my worries. I'll do some more reading on it though. I just want it to stop. Thank you for taking the time to reply. This site is a God send!

I believe a person knows their own body best. If you think this is nerve damage, I would go with that gut instinct. Most of the time we are right when something goes wrong, even if the doctor doesn't agree.
This may be another way to go about getting help. See a physiatrist, not only do they deal with pain, but they deal with the "whole" person from a cellular level. They can do all the pain docs do and more, including referrals if there is something with the nerves. You do need someone to pay attention to you, and listen when you tell them you think this is nerve damage.
Healing is hard enough from surgery, with out this additional worry. I would also call your surgeon once again, and state clearly, that something is wrong. Be as pro-active as you can to try to get some help. You are in some serious pain, and I so hope that some doc, will pay attention and address this issue. Troop to the ER if you have to. Sometimes the sqeeky wheel gets the greese. I am the type of person who will find the help, with every effort in order to feel better. I have switched doctors a number of times and finally found those in my corner, that have compassion and will listen to me. It took alot of effort to find these physicians. Since then, my health in general has improved. I so hope that happens for you. Please keep in touch with me. Let me know what you decide to do. Don't ignor it, fight to find the answer. I care about you, and you are not alone with dealing with it. Anyone who has experienced some severe pain, has empathy for what you are going through.
I am here to listen any time you need to talk. My prayers are with you. ginnie

Thank you. I have seen another neurologist. He did the nerve conductor test which showed that I did have nerve damage. He is the oe that put me on neurontin but he also prescribed anti infammatory med which i cant take because im not showing any fusion. He is more of a pain mgt dr. but i got scared about him prescribing the other med. my neurosurgeon just doesn't seem to take it seriously. My family is also wanting me to get all my records and go somewhere else. I barly slept last night. The area around my triceps and biceps hurt and burned so bad. I finally used ice packs on them at 3:00am which did help. The area around my collar bone also hurts. My wrist even hurts and my fingers are stiff. right after surgery my left arm was so heavy, i could barely move it and my fingers were drawn. ive gone from that to extreme pain, not always in the same location though. surgeon just says the nerves are angry and need time to heal. he has be more concerned telling me how everything looks good than he has been to listening to me. i think you are right, it is time to find someone who understands and can really identify what is causing the pain so we can find someway to "fix" it. I'm getting desperate. Thank you for listening. I'm so glad you kept pushing til you got the help you needed.

Ginnie,
You said your second recovery was a nightmare...can you tell me what happened? Nerve damage? Revision surgery, etc? Did you ave arm pain after the surgery? Did you have the burning?

Ginnie,
You said your second recovery was a nightmare...can you tell me what happened? Nerve damage? Revision surgery, etc? Did you ave arm pain after the surgery? Did you have the burning?

Yes the second recovery was terrible. I had more pain from that than the actual problem I had to begin with. I reversed my entire cervical spine. I thought that hurt, until I had that second sugery. The first 3 months were agony even with meds. Yes burning, but mostly these spasms that took my breath away. I did have pins and needles for about the first six months, then all resolved quite well in fact. I took narcotics all during the first two years, afraid of the the pain that was remaining. Then last summer, I decided to do something on my bucket list. I swam with a horse in the gulf of mexico with other disabled spine people. I fell off, laughed and got right back on. I had no additional pain at all from the activity. So....I ditched the morphine. I asked to come off it. If I could do that, what was I needing the meds for????
As of three years out, I still have hydrocodone and percocet on hand. I take them infrequently, and check in with pain management. Sometimes I over do things, or pick up something just too heavy like I did the other day. I go back on Monday, as I fell for the first time. The neck hurts below the site of fusions. I just hope i didn't mess something up. I will always have to be careful, but in my case I feel I had a good outcome. I also know not everybody has the best outcome after a sugery like that. So many different factors play into how well a person does. We are so different in our injuries, with different degrees of nerve damage. I suffered for six years between surgeries, as I didn't have the problem addressed to begin with. I should have done the research, and gotten my records right away. You have to be your own best advocate.
I sure hope you get better. I did do alot of PT. Alot!!!! My son is an OPTA, and he got me off my duff to do it at home as well. I started PT four weeks out with lots of massage. all my best to you, and a happy ending and no pain for you. ginnie